\u003Cfigcaption> \u003Cem>Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikitext-wiki_markup-wikipedia.png\u003C/em> \u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>For managing knowledge within a specific department or group, wikis can be a good tool. But like documentation databases, wikis are not great as general-purpose knowledge management solutions. They usually require information to be sorted into categories, which is not ideal. Their collaborative nature can become a downside because it makes it easy for everyone to assume that someone else will update a page when necessary, and no one does. And while some modern wiki platforms offer user-friendly, WYSIWYG editors, many still require edits to be made using special-purpose markup languages, which your typical non-technical end-user will struggle to master.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Instant messaging\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Given the selection of feature-rich instant messaging tools available today, it’s easy to understand why some organizations rely largely on instant messaging to manage knowledge. Instead of dumping information into wikis or databases, they simply share information in public chat channels. Doing so eliminates the need to set up and maintain a documentation database or wiki. It also makes it easy to share updates in real time as information changes.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>The major problem with relying on instant messaging to manage knowledge is that it’s too “instant.” In other words, it lacks permanency. It’s a great way to share information in real time, but it’s not so great when someone needs to look up information a day, week, or year after the fact.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Instant messaging can also quickly lead to information overload. Anyone who has woken up to three dozen different Slack notifications knows what this feels like. If instant messaging is your main knowledge management solution, it’s likely that your users will receive more messages than they can handle, and they’ll start ignoring many of them,which defeats the whole purpose.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>GitHub\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Last but not least is GitHub (and other Git-based information-management platforms). Although GitHub is designed primarily as a way to manage source code, a fair number of teams also rely on it to manage information other than source code.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>If you’re a developer, that’s great. It’s pretty easy for a programmer to churn out a documentation page or how-to in markdown, put it in a GitHub repo and let other users access or modify it from there. Developers can also use GitHub features like Issues to manage questions or conversations.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Z7NkOWWD1Wvgok1J2aqVDcmSi8ZlmNqf_jJzAWJpVN5dVbagdpyuN2l3Z_NCWdTH79KttUSYz0gt952_zA-cz5sL1IMF83rVEjszuUiREcVZHwnl2DMojyEi_3RU4rzAzjF7iDuu\" alt=\"\"/>\u003Cfigcaption> \u003Cem>Source: https://about.gitlab.com/2016/08/05/feature-highlight-set-dates-for-issues/\u003C/em>\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>For all the non-developers out there, however, GitHub is less handy. Most people don’t know markdown, let alone how to use GitHub.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Plus, there’s the fact that at the end of the day, GitHub just wasn’t designed as a general-purpose knowledge management system, and it never will be. Trying to use GitHub in this way is a bit like banging in a screw with a hammer. Sure, it might work, especially if you’re really good at using a hammer, but it probably won’t serve you well in the end.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>A better approach to knowledge management\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Now that we’ve looked at why various popular knowledge management solutions don’t work well, let me end on a more positive note by pointing out that a better approach is possible. It requires combining the comprehensiveness of a documentation database with the collaboration features of a wiki with the real-time (or near real-time) interactions of instant messaging.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bpiXUqG8vep-Tzol38PScB4-KJ5-Gp-7xFcO1Y_nhmJRfvzOG7XVbpAItxpdQOmWQN5KaP5_BIDvzwpN1Aczbeoav_PWmU4out_cKca5XSvIHJfsybMKN42wsRbdVtEcpR4cFwbY\" alt=\"\"/>\u003Cfigcaption> \u003Cem>Source: https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/stack-overflow-for-teams-sample-2.png\u003C/em> \u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>The result is something like \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/teams\">Stack Overflow\u003C/a> for Teams\u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/teams\">,\u003C/a> which makes information easily discoverable, scalable and easy for anyone in your organization to understand, even for folks who aren’t experts in git or markdown or mediawiki markup. That type of universal usability is what it takes to build a truly effective knowledge management solution for modern organizations.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph {\"backgroundColor\":\"very-light-gray\"} -->\n\u003Cp class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color\"> See how Stack Overflow for Teams can transform collaboration within your organization. \u003Cbr>\u003Ca href=\"https://info.stackoverflowsolutions.com/Enterprise_ABM-Overview.html?utm_source=dmbs&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=20-Q1-Enterprise-ABM-MidMgmt-codebase&utm_content=Ad2Mid-Prod-Overview\">Learn more\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->","html","2019-09-30T17:58:09.000Z",{"current":453},"why-your-wikis-instant-messaging-and-documentation-databases-dont-work",[455,463,468],{"_createdAt":456,"_id":457,"_rev":458,"_type":459,"_updatedAt":456,"slug":460,"title":462},"2023-05-23T16:43:21Z","wp-tagcat-abm","9HpbCsT2tq0xwozQfkc4ih","blogTag",{"current":461},"abm","ABM",{"_createdAt":456,"_id":464,"_rev":458,"_type":459,"_updatedAt":456,"slug":465,"title":467},"wp-tagcat-knowledge-management",{"current":466},"knowledge-management","knowledge management",{"_createdAt":456,"_id":469,"_rev":470,"_type":459,"_updatedAt":471,"slug":472,"title":474},"wp-tagcat-productivity","ZP7627ZkmfDRGke9Ig9IwB","2024-01-23T15:01:58Z",{"current":473},"productivity","Productivity","Why Your Wikis, Instant Messaging and Documentation Databases Don’t Work",[477,483,489,495],{"_id":478,"publishedAt":479,"slug":480,"sponsored":12,"title":482},"370eca08-3da8-4a13-b71e-5ab04e7d1f8b","2025-08-28T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":481},"moving-the-public-stack-overflow-sites-to-the-cloud-part-1","Moving the public Stack Overflow sites to the cloud: Part 1",{"_id":484,"publishedAt":485,"slug":486,"sponsored":446,"title":488},"e10457b6-a9f6-4aa9-90f2-d9e04eb77b7c","2025-08-27T04:40:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":487},"from-punch-cards-to-prompts-a-history-of-how-software-got-better","From punch cards to prompts: a history of how software got better",{"_id":490,"publishedAt":491,"slug":492,"sponsored":12,"title":494},"65472515-0b62-40d1-8b79-a62bdd2f508a","2025-08-25T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":493},"making-continuous-learning-work-at-work","Making continuous learning work at work",{"_id":496,"publishedAt":497,"slug":498,"sponsored":12,"title":500},"1b0bdf8c-5558-4631-80ca-40cb8e54b571","2025-08-21T14:00:25.054Z",{"_type":10,"current":499},"research-roadmap-update-august-2025","Research roadmap update, August 2025",{"count":502,"lastTimestamp":12},0,["Reactive",504],{"$sarticleModal":505},false,["Set"],["ShallowReactive",508],{"sanity-rV0AXC84IeKxqUgUbF4W6uu58ECrCWit-PgA20EQkbg":-1,"sanity-comment-wp-post-13173-1756387759732":-1},"/2019/09/30/why-your-wikis-instant-messaging-and-documentation-databases-dont-work"]